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Ray Kamalay’s Musical Flea Market

Let it be said from the outset, Ray Kamalay quite unabashedly loves old music. From the time he picked up the guitar so many years ago, he was looking towards the past. While his young colleagues screeched with distortion and feedback on their new electric guitars, Ray learned sweet chords on his acoustic. Instead of listening to the radio for songs to learn, Ray proceeded to the dusty archives in libraries and antique stores.

By the time he was in high school, Ray was endlessly fascinated by old and even ancient music. That fascination continues. Whether its Delta blues or J. S. Bach, the music of Ireland or the music of Brazil, Ray has built a remarkably diverse and historic repertoire of music that is familiar, intriguing and fun. His beautiful voice and wry humor are matched by his fine mastery of the guitar. It is remarkable that anyone can play so many different styles of music so well.

But Ray doesn’t leave it at that. Besides the occasional joke (all “family” material, of course), Ray often tells the stories of the songs themselves, drawing the audience closer. All of which exposes not only his fine talent, but his great love of the music itself. Ray calls it

Ray Kamalay is a Detroit native who has been a professional musician since 1974. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues including the Edinburgh Festival, Interlochen and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. In 1998, his work with Howard Armstrong was nominated for the W. C. Handy Award.

“Kamalay’s purely acoustic guitar is an accomplished musical conception…but his main purpose is to sing great songs.”
-Lazaro Vega, WBLV-FM

“Ray wraps himself around the music in a manner that is not only stylistically but technically faultless.”
-Kalamazoo Gazette